CHRIST IS THE HEAD OVER ALL
God subjected everything under Jesus' feet, and He gave Him, the head over all things, to the church, which is His body, the fulfillment of the One who is being fulfilled in all things in every way.
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)
Before we can talk about Christ and the church, we need to remember who Christ is. Paul reminds us that “God put all things under Christ’s feet.” Even though we are so small and seem so insignificant, especially when we look up at the stars and see how much greater God is, God has made us the rulers over His creation.
It is all about Christ. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plans for His universe. Everything is under His feet, which means Christ is the “head,” the ruler over all things.
“that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” (Ephesians 1:1
God is bringing everything in the universe to the point of honoring and serving Christ. That is something we need to remember so that we can understand what Paul says next.
Christ is the focus and center of God’s plans for the universe; He is the church! God “gave Him, the head over all things, to the church.” The ruler of the universe is for us! This is a great truth, a gift beyond imagining, which gives us the strength to face anything that might come against us.
How has God given Christ to the church? Through giving Jesus to die on the cross so that our offenses can be forgiven and through giving the Holy Spirit, who seals us as God’s possession in Christ.
Paul says it like this because it is not just that God has given Christ to each of us individually so that we can each be strengthened by ourselves. He has given Christ to us together. God is gathering us together, and that idea of being gathered together really matters.
Let us never forget that. Let us not just assume it, as if it is so obvious we do not need to say it. Paul says it. We need to say it. This is the first thing to say about the church: Christ is for the church, and the church is for Christ.
